The Vineyard at the End of the World

Maverick Winemakers and the Rebirth of Malbec

As wine connoisseurs know, Argentine wine was once famously bad. The grapes were overwatered, harvested in brutal heat, fermented in enormous cement pools, aged in antiquated oak vats, and then watered down and adulterated. The final product was industrial plonk, drinkable only on ice. But in 2001, a Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec blend beat Napa and Bordeaux’s finest in a blind taste test. Suddenly, Argentina emerged as a premier wine region with a champion varietal—what best-selling author Benjamin Wallace calls “the humble Malbec.” How did this happen?

Ian Mount’s vivid journey through Argentina’s Wild West explores the alchemy of weather, soil, and viticulture techniques that, on rare occasions, produce a legendary bottle of wine. He also investigates the dynamics of taste, status, and money that turned Malbec into a worldwide phenomenon.

Profiling the larger-than-life figures who fueled the Malbec revolution—including celebrity oenologist Michel Rolland, acclaimed American winemaker Paul Hobbs, and the Mondavi-esque Catena family—Mount describes in colorful detail the brilliant innovations and backroom politics that put Malbec on the map.

Set against the breathtaking backdrop of the snow-capped Andes and Mendoza’s sweeping plains, The Vineyard at the End of the World tells the fascinating, four-hundred-year story of how a wine mecca arose in the Argentine desert. It is at once a sumptuous travel narrative, a riveting history of a fascinating region, and an intriguing business story in which a small group of passionate vintners remade their world.

Endorsements & Reviews

“Gracefully interweaves history and geography with the harder sciences of agriculture, geography, and chemistry to tell a fascinating story.” — Katie Tuttle, Boston Globe

“This well-informed chronicle captures the distinctive nature of winemaking in a country challenged by an unforgiving climate and political and economic instability.” — Kirkus Reviews

“An artfully written story of how a poorly developed wine culture grew into one of the best wine regions in the world… This engaging, important, and accessible book fills a gap in the literature of wine culture and history.” — Lisa Ennis, Library Journal

“[Vineyard at the End of the World]… excels at telling the personal stories of struggling and speculation.” — Wine Spectator

“The rise of Argentine wine and the improbable triumph of the humble Malbec—the Seabiscuit of grapes—is one of the great untold stories of globalization. As Ian Mount shows with great energy and feeling, the tale is as much about people and their dreams and obsessions as it is about the delicious drink that motivates them.” — Benjamin Wallace, The Billionaire’s Vinegar

“The Vineyard at the End of the World is a fascinating account of wine-world alchemy: what happens when the old world and the new world meet on the Argentinean frontier. This book will convince you—as if there were ever any doubt—that, for international wine lovers, the golden age is now.” — Tilar Mazzeo, bestselling author of The Widow Clicquot

“Ian Mount has found an important void in the current library of wine books: Mendoza and Malbec. The history is fascinating.” — George Taber, bestselling author of The Judgment of Paris

“Ian Mount takes wine lovers on an intoxicating adventure. Anyone intrigued by how Argentina has amazed the wine world will love this gripping tale of invention, breakthrough and revelation. I enjoyed this wide-ranging book tremendously.” — Vivienne Sosnowski, author of When the Rivers Ran Red